[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11457012[/url]
Yesterday the president of Ecuador was freed after being taken hostage by rogue members of the police and soldiers of Ecuador.
Ecuador has been going through political strife as of late as a result of President Correa's plans to restructure the government to streamline the budget. These measures affected police, soldiers, and bureaucrats more. The political impasse led Correa to consider dissolving parliament and calling snap elections to break the impasse.
On the morning of September 30th, some police and soldiers began to occupy airports and set up barricades in the street (complete with burning tires). The country's national assembly was also occupied, as was the country's state television.
President Correa proceeded to a police barracks to talk to protesting police and try to appeal to them for calm. He was hassled on his way there, and after attempts to calm them down failed he tried to leave. At this moment some police fired tear gas at him and he was taken to a hospital by his bodyguards. Mutinying police followed him and trapped him in the hospital, where he was basically kept hostage.
As word got out to the citizens of Quito about this, people took to the streets to strike back at the police, where unsurprisingly conflicts with the police occurred. Reportedly they were chanting "This is not Honduras", referring to the 2009 coup against former president Manuel Zelaya (who was thrown out of power by a small group of soldiers). The hospital where the president was kept was surrounded by citizens attempting to free the president, but were kept at bay by the rogue police and soldiers who were attempting to break into Correa's hospital room.
Eventually elements of the military friendly to the government intervened and rescued the president from the hospital. A state of emergency was declared as order was restored in the capital.
It was accused by some, including Correa and the government, that the action taken by the police was building towards a coup orchestrated by his political enemies, notably the former president Lucio Gutiérrez. Gutiérrez was president from 2003 to 2005 and was made to resign from his office by the parliament after mass protests over economic free-trade agreements and alleged corruption among his party.
President Correa still has a lot on his plate though. With ambitious economic reforms and disagreements in his party as to how to approach those, this surely won't blow over very easily. More so is compounded by Correa and his party's declaration of being "socialist" much in the same vein of the left-leaning or centre-left governments in South America (A very wide range of ideologies from more radical Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales, to more moderate Argentina's Kirchner, and Brazil's Lula), who among other things represent a growing resentment against the so-called "Washington Consensus" (essentially neo-liberal market reforms) and its impact on their nations.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4GqoU2Cj4Y[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xsbTR-ahYg[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=679fRtgfxGo[/media]
Yeah I heard about this, I didn't know the police held him hostage though, and I also thought that they were mainly firing tear gas into a crowd of protesters or something.
[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;25184953]Yeah I heard about this, I didn't know the police held him hostage though, and I also thought that they were mainly firing tear gas into a crowd of protesters or something.[/QUOTE]
He was at an army barracks at the beginning of the day trying to appeal to the police, who didn't want to hear any of it. When he was leaving tear gas was launched at him and he was taken to the hospital.
After this happened the police decided to surround the hospital he was in and attempted to get to him directly. For all intents and purposes he was stuck in the room with his bodyguards. An attempt for a chopper to get him out failed, so he was stuck until the army came.
However the attempts of the police to get to him were significantly slowed down by the presence of the people who formed outside the hospital to face the mutinous police, at least until the military came with heavier power to punch through them.
I guess you could say...
... they missed el coupo.
This was actually interesting to watch, President Correa is quite the crowd rouse'r. I'm surprised it took so long for this story to be up on News, I was about to do it myself.
That's pretty cool that his people tried to help protect him. Obviously he's doing the right thing and these police officers are just lackeys for some opposing force.
It's a shame how quickly people turn to violence when they don't get their way.
Wow, I wonder if they're going to have a civil war over this.
It sounds like some of the Police and Military already turned on him.
Just the police it seems. The Army came to rescue him. Plus the average citizen seems pretty cheerful with him.
[QUOTE=Killoch0;25185451]Just the police it seems. The Army came to rescue him. Plus the average citizen seems pretty cheerful with him.[/QUOTE]
Against him in the city, though some military went with rogue police in occupying the TV stations, parliament, airports, highways, and closing border checkpoints too.
No civil war though. If there was indeed a coup intent, it was similar to what happened in Honduras. Cripple the country and very quickly remove the head of government before people realized what was going on.
Wow, that president is a badass. 1:08 on the first video.
I'll bet they made the sinkholes :mad:
i cant wait for chavez to go
"this is all some secret conspiracy by the CIA to conquer latin mericuh!!!!
"
[QUOTE=privatesmily;25187040]i cant wait for chavez to go
"this is all some secret conspiracy by the CIA to conquer latin mericuh!!!!
"[/QUOTE]
You can't blame Chavez for his misgivings, he was a victim of an attempted coup very early on its regime. For what it's worth the United States also happened to be the very first nation to recognize the new government of Venezuela as legitimate before a popular protest put Chavez back in.
After what happened in Operation Condor, a lot of Latin American politicians are suspicious of American interests in the region.
Good thing, I'm planning (might be 'was') on going there next summer.
President Correa is Best Correa
I thought you misspelled equator
I'm ecuadorian, pretty scary stuff..
One my my classmates, a good friend of mine, is in a student exchange program in Ecuador. :smith: He says he is fine, tough. :unsmith:
I hope everything turns out alright for your friend :)
So do they not like him because he is a democratic socialist, or what?
[QUOTE=FinalHunter;25213167]Everything in South America is stupid.[/QUOTE]
You leave the Olmecs alone!
Good thing this coup failed.
And seems like the people played big part in this.
Hope all the rogue police and soldiers are executed.
[quote]The hospital where the president was kept was surrounded by citizens attempting to free the president[/quote]
I think that's a sign you're running the country well.
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;25221037]I think that's a sign you're running the country well.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, if I were him I'd do whatever it takes to improve the country according to the citizens if they did something like that.
Or atleast do something in thanks
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